Spokesman Robin Kiely said: "We sincerely apologise to all passengers who have had their travel plans disrupted by these unjustified ATC strikes."

EasyJet axed up to 60 flights including 20 services in-and-out of England [AFP]

We sincerely apologise to all passengers who have had their travel plans disrupted by these unjustified ATC strikes

Ryanair spokesman Robin Kiely

While EasyJet said they doing all they could to minimise the impact the strikes had on their passengers.

A spokesperson added: "We are doing everything possible to minimise the impact to our customers and we are offering anyone flying to and from Italy during those times the opportunity to transfer their flight free of charge to another day to avoid the strike.

"They should go to easyJet.com to make changes to their flights."

BA said they had rescheduled a number of flights as they tried to avoid cancelling services.

One re-timed service was a service from Naples to Gatwick which meant to depart at 10.30am but instead left three hours later.

A BA spokeswoman said: "We are doing all we can to minimise disruption to customers affected by the threatened strike.

"We have re-timed a number of flights and are using larger aircraft where possible to help more customers, from cancelled flights, fly to where they need to be.

"We are advising customers flying to and from Italy to keep checking the very latest information on our website."

Ryanair cancelled 96 services, among them four flights to and from Britain [PA]

People who were meant to be flying to Italy today were advised to check with their airline before heading off to the airport.

A spokeswoman for consumer organisation Which? said: "If you have a flight delay because of a strike, your airline has an obligation to offer you assistance if the delay is expected to go beyond a certain point.

"You could be entitled to food, drink and overnight accommodation, if required.

"Our advice is always to contact your airline before travelling to the airport to check if your flight has been affected."

The air traffic controllers have been striking in opposition to the EU's Single European Sky plans.

The initiative is supposed to increase co-operation between a reduced number of control centres but campaigners fear it will jeopardise safety.